This invention relates generally to the field of cell phone cases and more specifically to phone case with insertable secondary housing.
Phone cases for the protection of cell phones is a well-known product around the world. It is highly recommended that cell phone users encase their phones so that they have less of a tendency to break when dropped or otherwise abused. Many people also carry other items in their pockets or purses, including cigarette packs, wallets, cosmetic cases, keys or phone charging modules. It would be helpful of there were a secondary compartment attached to the underside of a phone case that would be capable of holding one or more of the above mentioned articles.
To this end, a number of people have designed multipurpose cell phone cases. These include:
Chinese patent application CN2485877 showing a cell phone case with an additional hollow housing for holding other items. This patent has lapsed due to non-payment of fees.
Chinese patent application CN1949796 discloses a cell phone case with an area for cigarettes. This application has been withdrawn.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,161 discloses a cosmetic carrier attached to a cell phone case.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,146,184 shows another design for a cell phone case with integral cosmetic pack.—a mirror is included.
Patent application 2009/0166247 shows a smart phone case with a cosmetic compartment. This patent was never issued.
Patent application 2012/0264491 shows a storage case attached to the back side of a cell phone. The storage case has room for face powder, lipstick and a brush. This patent was never issued.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,485,404 is a smart phone case with a compartment to hold ear-buds and wires.
Design patent—D688,655 is a phone case with a wallet accessory. This is for the shape only, not for the function.
Patent application 2013/0220847 shows a protective case for a cell phone that includes a rear compartment that can store a cigarette lighter, W\USB flash drive, earphones or other articles. This patent has not issued.
Patent D705,763 shows a phone case with lighter—but it is for the shape only—not utility.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,833,379 shows a container attached to a cell phone for holding items such as cosmetics.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,979,526 shows a cell phone cover with integrated lighter which is battery powered.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,967,377 shows a case for a phone which has a plurality of storage compartments including a foldable lens cover.
The sited patents and patent application show us that the concept of a cigarette case and lighter combined is in the public domain based on U.S. Pat. No. 2,529,150. Several of the above patents talk about some sort of cosmetic case attached to a phone case. One Chinese patent application talks about a combination phone case and cigarette holder—but this patent has never issued. The idea is now public because of the publication of the application.
However, none of the patents has talked about including a lighter and a holder for cigarettes in one phone case. Additionally, no one has talked about the idea of having a common housing size for inserting or removing a uniformly sized case, each capable of holding different items such as a cigarette holder/lighter, a cosmetic case and a wallet case. Furthermore, none of the sited patents include the addition of a third integrated case that is triangular in cross section and can hold small items such as keys. Additionally, none of the sited patents show a secondary case that can both be removable and replaceable, and also be able to open the lid of the secondary case without removing the secondary case from its holder located under the standard phone case. Finally, none of the above patents shows a phone case that can accept a combination of cigarettes and a cigarette lighter where the cigarettes and lighter are easily accessible without having to remove the secondary case from the case retaining portion.